Love Across Species

Although Wukong was only level thirty now, the strength of his body rivaled that of a Soul Emperor, so he naturally feared no pressure from the lake depths.

Thus, Wukong familiarly leaped into the lake and dove all the way down, arriving before the barrier of the underwater pocket space.

I wonder if the pass Di Tian gave me still works...

Wukong reached out to test it and discovered that he could still freely enter and leave through the barrier. Delighted, he said, "Looks like Old Sun still carries some weight in Boss Di's eyes."

Then Wukong passed directly through the barrier and entered the underwater space.

The moment he entered, the ground beneath his feet suddenly vanished, but Wukong was not flustered in the slightest.

"Somersault Cloud!"

A Soul Ring flashed beneath his feet, and a cluster of pristine white clouds instantly formed. Wukong stepped onto the cloud and landed calmly on the ground.

The instant Wukong appeared, the Ferocious Beasts sensed his aura and emerged from their closed-eye cultivation.

"Monkey Bro! You're back!"

A golden blur shot toward him with a whoosh.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion happily wagged her tail and circled Wukong nonstop.

The Golden Lion was far more obedient than Xiao Wu. From beginning to end, she had called Wukong Monkey Bro and always looked like his little fangirl.

"Yeah, I came back to visit everyone."

Wukong rubbed the Golden Lion's fluffy head, then looked up at the towering figure ahead. "Lord Di Tian!"

After giving Wukong a once-over, Di Tian praised, "Not bad. It has not even been a year since your Transformation, yet you have already reached level thirty. Your aura is steady, and your Soul Power is not the least bit unstable. It seems you truly have a great chance of becoming a god."

Such a terrifying cultivation speed was enough to frighten even beasts.

After all, Wukong had risen twenty levels in just one year!

For a Soul Beast, such a leap would require at least several hundred, perhaps even a thousand years of painstaking cultivation.

Even knowing that Wukong had been aided by Immortal Herbs, the saying still held true: opportunity itself was part of one's strength.

Wukong chuckled and humbly said, "Old Sun was merely lucky. I also have Lord Di Tian to thank for your generous help back then. Otherwise, I would never have come this far."

But Di Tian shook his head. "External aid can only assist you in the end. You reached this point through your own effort and fortune."

At this time, Zi JI, Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, and the other Ferocious Beasts also gathered around.

They had hidden here year-round and were deeply curious about human society outside, so they all began asking Wukong about his recent experiences among humans.

Wukong was extremely patient and answered every question, satisfying their curiosity.

After a round of pleasantries.

Wukong opened his Hundred Treasures Pouch and took out the gifts he had prepared for everyone.

For the two female Ferocious Beasts, Zi JI and Bi Ji, he had brought fashionable, luxurious, beautiful clothes and jewelry from Dragon Rising City.

For the Lich King, Scarlet King, Xiong Jun, and Di Tian, he had prepared the same things he had given Da Ming and Er Ming: refined, high-proof liquor.

After all, with the cultivation and strength of these Ferocious Beasts, they would not even glance at ordinary natural treasures.

Wukong neither had the money nor the connections to purchase divine items that could move them, so he simply gave them the hard currency belonging to men—alcohol.

As for his number-one fangirl, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, her gifts were the most numerous and varied:

All sorts of desserts and snacks unique to human society, as well as a huge stack of miscellaneous books.

Most of them were novels Wukong had previously bought and read in order to study the market.

After all, the Golden Lion spent every day in the underwater space and was terribly bored. Reading such storybooks to pass the time would be excellent.

As for the Golden Lion being illiterate?

That was for Di Tian and the others to worry about. Wukong had prepared dictionaries and other teaching materials as well.

And the Silver Dragon King's gift?

Naturally, he had prepared one for her too.

If everyone else received a gift while the big boss alone did not, would that not be a huge slap in the face?

So whether the Silver Dragon King thought highly of it or could use it, he still had to prepare it.

"My liege, these are some documents on the various powers and intelligence I gathered in human society..."

"So that you may better understand humans and, one day, lead our Soul Beast Clan to glory once more!"

"After all, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

Those were merely formalities. In truth, the box also contained romance novels like the ones he had given the Golden Lion.

It just would not be appropriate to say that in front of Di Tian and the others—it would undermine his liege's dignity.

If the Silver Dragon King happened to enjoy these novels, Wukong would have another way to please her.

Once the Silver Dragon King was happy, would resources not come pouring in? After speaking, Wukong placed a box by the lake in the underwater space and waited for the Silver Dragon King to accept it.

Not long after.

A current of water suddenly appeared and swept the box into the lake.

A moment later, a voice came from within the lake. "You have been thoughtful."

"As long as my liege likes it."

Wukong felt completely reassured. It seemed he had found the right approach.

After distributing gifts to the Ferocious Beasts, Wukong turned around and revealed that he had even prepared a gift for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was utterly astonished. It had never imagined that Wukong would prepare a gift for it, a mere food source.

Wukong looked at Tian Meng with a calm expression. "The Soul Beast world has always been one where the weak are prey to the strong. You had cultivation but lacked strength, so the beasts treated you as nourishment and fed upon you. You cannot blame anyone else for that; you can only blame your own weakness. But I, Wukong, distinguish clearly between gratitude and grudges. I accepted Lord Di Tian's favor back then and benefited from absorbing your origin, successfully breaking through the one-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck and transforming into a beast. Naturally, I also owe you. This gift is repayment for that favor."

The beasts looked at one another.

At first, they had only thought this monkey softhearted for feeling sympathy toward a lump of food.

But upon thinking it over, they found his words somewhat reasonable, so none of them said anything further.

With a flick of his wrist, Wukong took out the gift he had prepared for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

It was actually a life-sized figurine of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, meticulously carved from crystal!

The beasts were all speechless at the sight.

Who did not know that the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion was the ruler of the Far North and the Ice Silkworm Clan's natural enemy, born to feed on ice silkworms?

Was Wukong giving a gift, or cursing someone to his face?

Yet the instant the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm clearly saw that crystal ice scorpion, its entire body suddenly trembled.

Then it unexpectedly burst into uncontrollable sobs. "Boohoo... Bing Bing! My Bing Bing! I miss you so much in the Star Dou Great Forest!"

Its crying was mournful and heartrending, winding through countless turns as though there truly were some unknown, incomparably tragic love story between different species.

The Ferocious Beasts were shocked beyond measure, their faces full of disbelief.

Could there really be some juicy gossip here?

So they all turned to Wukong, hoping he could explain.

Wukong sighed faintly. "Love has never distinguished between species. An ice silkworm falling in love with a scorpion may be absurd, but it is not impossible."